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Parse on Tuesday at the Rink

Posted: January 29th, 2007, 4:42pm CST by Rick

CSTV.com announced today that UNO forward Scott Parse will be one of the guests for this week’s “Tuesday @ the Rink” chats, presented by CSTV.com and USCHO. Parse, who leads the Mavericks against No. 6 Michigan State this weekend, with Saturday night’s contest airing live on CSTV at 8 p.m. ET, will appear at 1 pm CST. The chat rooms are open now, so fans can submit questions in advance.
Parse Offensive POTW

Posted: January 29th, 2007, 1:09pm CST by Rick

The CCHA named Scott Parse Offensive Player of the Week.
CCHA Road to the Joe Photo Gallery: UNO/NMU

Posted: January 29th, 2007, 10:57am CST by Rick

The CCHA was in town this weekend and took photos to prove it. Thanks to the CCHA, and especially The Dreamy Courtney Welch, for these photos.
UNO Football Rebrands to Omaha

Posted: January 20th, 2007, 9:31am CST by Rick

The UNO Football team has adopted a new look for next year. The helmet is deeper than the bright red plain helmet the Mavs have been wearing for a while. The Crimson and Black O is to emphasize the connection with the city:

OWH: "I would like to get as close to what the school colors are as we can," UNO coach Pat Behrns said. "And I'd like to try to bridge a closer connection to the city of Omaha. We are Omaha's college football team."

OWH again: Matching uniforms have not yet been designed, but both Behrns and Titus said "Omaha" would likely replace "Mavericks" on the front, another way to develop the local connection.

UNO Hockey has steadfastly refused to adopt Omaha-centric branding, keeping its hideous Nebraska Omaha logo on its road unis for 10 years and debuting this year's horrendous "crotch arrow" third sweater without any detectable design effort. Maybe football's forward and civic thinking will prompt the hockey Mavs to think about the city they live in too.
Knights Attendance Continues to Suffer

Posted: January 11th, 2007, 5:39pm CST by Rick

Omaha.com (registration required)

The Omaha Aksarben Knights are slicing their numbers pretty thin to justify their continued existence in Omaha; they say their attendance is 20% ahead of last year, but they averaged 3,271 for the season last year and are averaging 3,129 so far this year. They claim their numbers will jump after mid-season, and to be fair, there's some evidence of that.

Even those numbers, though, are widely believed to be inflated. Whether they represent bought-but-unused seats or what, the Knights simply don't have and won't get the traction they need to thrive here. The local owners, who reportedly foot the bill for operating losses, aren't mentioned much in the OWH story.

The second half promotions like The Famous Chicken (what is this, 1981?) and NASCAR night (how insulting is that?) aren't designed to appeal to the intelligent hockey fan, but since the "Best Fans" campaign widely insulted the intelligent hockey fans in this community, all the Knights have left are NASCAR fans. Unfortunately, the NASCAR set isn't going to want to pay premium ticket prices for a night in an aging facility.

UNO is not doing anything to save itself, what with a mediocre performance to date and worse-than-mediocre (and even worse than usual) bungling at the Sapp Fieldhouse, but it has a core of die-hard fans. Plus, UNO isn't leaving town soon. At some point the Knights local owners will recognize the right and smart thing to do is pull the plug on this ill-conceived effort to bring premium-priced minor-league sports to an oversaturated market for a niche sport.
WCH Likes Our Recruits

Posted: December 21st, 2006, 5:54pm CST by Rick

Western College Hockey ranks UNO's recruiting class 18th in the nation, saying "there's a lot of talent on both offense and defense."
We're #29!

Posted: December 11th, 2006, 10:13pm CST by Rick

The Mavs received two whole points in the USCHO Division I Men's Poll this week, putting them in a tie for 29th with RIT and behind Sacred Frickin' Heart, who has three times as much. Still, the Mavs' death spiral has arrested itself for now, and UNO finds itself owning a winning record for the first time since the Niagara game.

Parse Wins DEFENSIVE POTY

Posted: December 4th, 2006, 11:01am CST by Rick

The CCHA has named Scott Parse Defensive Player of the Week. Clearly he needs to start playing in goal.
BGSU Reporter: Mavs Back In It

Posted: December 3rd, 2006, 10:45am CST by Rick

Presumably browned-out by the Big 12 Championship game, Omaha.com used the services of Bowling Green reporter Kevin Gordon as a special to the paper. Gordon threw flowers at the feet of the Mavs, calling them "one of the league's most skilled offenses" and "back in the thick of the CCHA race."
MankatoFreep on Kisios

Posted: November 28th, 2006, 8:04am CST by Rick

The Mankato Free Press has a story on the brothers Kisio and the annual battle for the Silver Sow, which UNO can unbolt from the trophy cabinet in Mankato with a win at the Qwest in January.
Mavs 25th in Pairwise

Posted: November 27th, 2006, 9:03am CST by Rick

After a difficult November, you're writing off UNO's postseason chances, right? Wrong. UNO is actually 25th in the Pairwise Rankings, winning six comparisons so far.

How can that be with UNO's 4-7-4 record? Don't you need a winning season even to be ranked in the PWR? No, as Pairwise wizard Jeff Baker reminded me over the weekend -- you only need your RPI to be over .500 since the tournament criteria were altered a couple of years ago. Your RPI turns more on your opponents' records and their opponents' records than it does on your own record. And UNO has played some pretty tough competition. UNO actually wins its pairwise comparison with Notre Dame by virtue of having played a much tougher schedule.

Now, let's be clear: UNO has to win 10 more pairwise comparisons to even be on the bubble for the tourney -- and that will require beating, not just playing, good teams. But UNO's not out of it yet -- if it can stabilize its play in its defensive end and get the kind of goaltending that it got Saturday out of Dupont, this team still has a good chance to reach the NCAA tournament.
Phillipi, Waller and Martin Sign

Posted: November 15th, 2006, 7:54pm CST by Rick

KETV has posted UNO's press release indicating that Mike Phillipi (Indiana, USHL), Quin Waller and Joey Martin (Aurora, OPJHL) will join Kemp, Martin and Olimb in the fall recruiting class of '07.
Bartholomay, Dion Knelsen out for weekend

Posted: November 3rd, 2006, 1:38pm CST by Rick

At the UNO Blue Line Club lunch held today, Coach Mike Kemp revealed that Adam Bartholomay will not appear this weekend after taking a puck to the facemask last weekend; UAF (I refuse to call them "Alaska") coach Tavis MacMillan advised that Dion Knelsen was injured this week in practice and would not be playing "for a month or so."
OWH: UNO Athletics Gets $ 1 Million

Posted: November 3rd, 2006, 7:37am CST by Rick

Omaha.com (registration required, sorry) reports that Robert and Marcia Kruger have pledged $1 million to the UNO Athletic department.
LWV Voters Guide on Regent Candidates

Posted: November 2nd, 2006, 1:06pm CST by Rick

The Omaha League of Women Voters' annual Guide to the General Election solicited statements from the four candidates for the two Omaha-area seats on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. Among the questions they asked were the following:

"4. How will you assure financial oversight of athletic programs in the University system?

District 4
NAGENGAST: Improve transparency and accountability by defining reporting relationships and oversight responsibilities. Clearly define relationships between alumni, boosters and the athletic department. Implement one accounting software system across the University. Monitor financial results by individual sport. Communicate budget variances to all stakeholders. Evaluate leadership on athletic team performance and budget performance.

WHITEHOUSE: No response.

District 8

FERLIC: Transparency and accountability with proper accounting controls are necessary when we mix public and private funds. A third independent party should sign off on all receipts expenditures to assure that they conform to University policies and practices.

RUSSELL: Internal audits need to be put in place & monitored by Central Administration & presented to the Board of Regents."
INCH Hobey Tracker Hearts Parse Again

Posted: November 1st, 2006, 8:32pm CST by Rick

Inside College Hockey's Hobey Tracker makes up this week for dissing 23 in its assessments to date, giving him the week's metaphor-mixing Hobey "Bull Market" honors.
Some Canadian Paper Loves Gumby

Posted: November 1st, 2006, 8:29pm CST by Rick

A Canadian website only got the facts slightly wrong as it mentioned Jeremie Dupont's coming oot party in a story today: "Richmond Hill, Ont., native Jeremie Dupont, a freshman goaltender for Nebraska-Omaha, was named rookie of the week after getting his first two collegiate wins. Dupont recorded his first collegiate win Friday with nine saves in relief duty against Western Michigan. The following night, Dupont made his first start and blocked 24 shots for the Mavericks in a 6-0 shutout win."
Chaz, Gateway Analyze WMU weekend

Posted: October 31st, 2006, 7:13pm CST by Rick

Charley "Chaz in the Morning" Reed offers a solid analysis of the weekend's series against WMU in the UNO Gateway.
Culhane: No Credit to UNO

Posted: October 30th, 2006, 7:19am CST by Rick

In this Kalamazoo Gazette game recap, WMU coach Jim Culhane, who made both games hours longer with 86 inane bench conferences with the refs and coaching his players to skate to the penalty box so slowly that glaciers might overrun the Qwest Center before the penalty had to be served, had this to say about UNO's pummeling of the Broncos:

"For us to be successful, we needed to have more 5-on-5 play. It's not so much what they did, but the accountability is back to us,'' WMU coach Jim Culhane said.
UNO Leads Nation in Shorties; 3rd in Team Offense

Posted: October 29th, 2006, 9:21am CST by Rick

This morning's USCHO statistical leaders page shows that UNO is currently the D-1 leader in shorthanded goals with four, a testament to its dangerous speed and decisive breakout ability. With an average of 4.83 goals per game, UNO is also tied for third in team offense behind Minnesota and Dartmouth (!).

Note: If you're reading this story after the week of 10/28, the stats on the linked page will have changed.
Broncos Fear UNO Band

Posted: October 26th, 2006, 7:03am CDT by Rick

MLive.com's feed of the Kalamazoo Gazette claims that Western Michigan coach and Rhodes scholar actually said the following for his standard "it'll be a tough series" quote:

"It's one of the top buildings in our league and around the country, so they have a lot to be proud of,'' Culhane said. They have a real solid foundation of season ticket holders, their band is very involved, and it does become another tough road challenge for us.''

What's this sound like in the locker room? "Boys, you're going to hear 'Vehicle.' You're going to hear 'Hip to Be Square.' You're going to hear something that sounds sorta like 'Gonna Fly Now' from Rocky but isn't. You're going to hear them over and over...their band is very....involved. But just put it out of your mind and play Bronco Hockey!"
Niagara: Worst Loss in School History

Posted: October 21st, 2006, 9:52am CDT by Rick

The smoldering crater where Niagara University used to be reports that the shelling the Mavericks laid on them last night is the worst loss and the highest goals-against total in school history.
Chambers intends to "Punish" UNO

Posted: October 18th, 2006, 12:58pm CDT by Rick

Sorry to burden you with more stories that deal with the Admin building rather than the Fieldhouse or the Qwest Center, but this is worrisome. In an exceptionally poorly-edited story, The Grand Island Independent reports that State Senator Ernie Chambers intends to "punish" UNO financially for its "inaction" associated with the faculty/student alleged slapping incident earlier this year.

For those of you keeping score at home, using the legislature to "punish" anyone is an unlawful bill of attainder and a violation of the separation of powers. But then again, it's Ernie's world, we just live in it.
Weide: Travis to Feature Hockey on 590

Posted: October 16th, 2006, 6:54pm CDT by Rick

Eagle-eyed reporter reporter Sean Weide reports that former former sportscaster Travis Justice will feature hockey once a week for an hour on his show on Big Sports 590. It's called "ice Tuesdays" and runs from 10 to 11 AM.
Mavs/Seawolves Game Live on Intraweb

Posted: October 14th, 2006, 9:23am CDT by Rick

Tonight's game between UNO and Anchorage will be streaming live on the internet, thanks to our new best friends at CGI Cable. According to GCI, you need at two things in order to get the feed: Real Player, available for free (reg required) at Real.com and a broadband connection with a download speed of 512 kbps or greater. If you don't know how fast your connection is, here's a two-part test. If you have broadband, you're probably OK. If you have broadband but wonder if you're really getting anything for your money, you can check your download speed here.
Anchorage Daily News: Dewey Defeats Truman

Posted: October 14th, 2006, 8:46am CDT by Rick

As of this posting, the headline on this story in the Anchorage Daily News reads "Colorado College Advances with Shootout Win."
Christensen: Balanced Budget, Oversight to Come for Athletics

Posted: October 11th, 2006, 2:17pm CDT by Rick

Omaha.com reports on Interim Chancellor John Christensen's pledge to balance the UNO Athletic Department's budget in three years, and in a shocking development, to actually oversee discretionary spending by department officials. In so doing, he said the University's act of contrition for having "betrayed" the community that, if said by his predecessor, would have saved her job.
Sean Weide: Mavs Logo Lifted from Super Bowl?

Posted: October 11th, 2006, 1:32pm CDT by Rick

The Reader's Media Notes, a public service of Reader writer Sean Weide, suggests that the Mavs' 10th anniversary logo bears "uncanny resemblance" to the Super Bowl XXXVIII logo. Click the link and decide for yourself.
First Game Day Press Release of the Year

Posted: October 9th, 2006, 7:42am CDT by Rick

UNO Athletics has released the first press...uh...release of the post-Mike Kros era and the 2006-07 season. Click on the Adobe icon at the top of the page to which we link and you can get it in PDF, Shirley Fey stylee.
Coach Kemp on Tuesday Chat

Posted: October 7th, 2006, 7:05am CDT by Rick

Mike Kemp will be featured on CSTV's "Tuesday at the Rink" online chat on Opening Day, Tuesday, October 10 at 2pm Central time. Questions for the chat are accepted ahead of time in the chat room, which can be found here.
Mike Kemp Show Returns October 3

Posted: September 29th, 2006, 7:21am CDT by Rick

Charley "Chaz in the Morning" Reed announces on MavPuck that the Mike Kemp Show will start again on October 3 at Indigo Joe's a 74th and Dodge, and will re-air on Thursday nights on Cox Channel 17 and Qwest 77. Ups to UNO TV for televising the proceedings.
Belck Spending Being Used to Justify 423 Lid

Posted: September 29th, 2006, 7:09am CDT by Rick

OK, this may seem a bit off-topic, but since it potentially has implications for sports, I'll report it. The Lincoln Journal-Star reports today that the hicks who support Initiative 423, the mathematical spending lid that has ruined Colorado, point to Nancy Belck's poor spending practices as part of their justification for taking the budget out of the hands of the people and their legislature:
Kemp at CCHA Media Day

Posted: September 27th, 2006, 6:47pm CDT by Rick

Media Day Quotes :: : "Nebraska-Omaha Head Coach Mike Kemp: 'The excitement in Omaha rests around our 10th season of hockey. We're going to make this a cornerstone of celebration. From the start and inception of our program, we've looked forward to the day where we could say we're 10 years old. We've been building this program from scratch and it's an exciting time for us! People are talking
3 Home, No Road Games to be Televised for UNO

Posted: September 27th, 2006, 12:38pm CDT by Rick

The CCHA announced today that UNO's Saturday night games against Bowling Green, Michigan State and Ohio State will all be on TV. All of them will be home games. Nice to be on TV, I guess.
Parse Unanimous All-CCHA Selection

Posted: September 27th, 2006, 12:00pm CDT by Rick

The CCHA unanimously named Scott Parse to its pre-season All-Conference First Team..\
Mavs Consensus Fifth in Media Day Polls

Posted: September 27th, 2006, 10:56am CDT by Rick

The CCHA's press release for Media Day (and you didn't get me a card!) has UNO 5th in both the coach and media polls. Michigan and State split the top spots in the polls, and between them and Miami took all of the first-place votes.
Shatel: Osborne for Chancellor?

Posted: September 26th, 2006, 2:48pm CDT by Rick

Omaha.com: "• The rumor mill is buzzing, according to my UNO booster friends. They say there's a movement among some Maverick types to make Tom Osborne the new chancellor."

Staggering in its implications.
Ice: Phillippi a Maverick

Posted: September 25th, 2006, 6:18pm CDT by Rick

The Indiana Ice confirmed today that defenseman Mike Phillippi (3 I's, 3 P's, 2 L's) will enroll in UNO in 2007, along with John Kemp and Eric Olimb, joining Tomas Klempa and Eddie Del Grosso.
Herbster: Integrity from Chancellor is "New, Breath of Fresh Air."

Posted: September 22nd, 2006, 10:45am CDT by Rick

Athletic director David Herbster used his interview with The UNO Gateway to kiss interim Chancellor John Christensen and slap Nancy Belck: "I think John (Christensen) taking over as interim chancellor is a very positive move for the university. I think what you're going to see, from a leadership standpoint, is a man of integrity," said Athletics Director David Herbster. "In that position, it's very much new, it's very much a breath of fresh air."
WCH Picks Mavs 8th in CCHA, Is Wrong

Posted: September 21st, 2006, 3:34pm CDT by Rick

Western College Hockey, which is run by the Weasel equivalent of West O Mike (and though this clause is about both Nebraska and Michigan fans, is nonetheless a compliment), picks the Mavs 8th in the league despite (a) finishing in a tie for fourth, (b) returning nearly everybody, (c) getting more talent at the positions where it's needed and (d) playing in an easier cluster. That's why they play the games, I guess.
Belck: Herbster should be "looking somewhere else"

Posted: September 19th, 2006, 4:43pm CDT by Rick

The Gateway continues its very good coverage of the Belck debacle with an interview of the Deposed One herself. In it, the former Chancellor says that Athletic Director David Herbster is not long for UNO.
Journal-Star Paranoid about UNO

Posted: September 19th, 2006, 2:27am CDT by Rick

The LincolnJournal Star has a positively Hassebroock-esque editorial about the supremacy of UNL sports, worrying that UNO's contemplation of Division I-AA is unfair to "Husker fans all over the world."
Heisenblog Likes Del Grosso Too

Posted: September 13th, 2006, 8:29pm CDT by Rick

Chris Heisenberg, high priest of college hockey recruiting, concurs with INCH's assessment that Ed Del Grosso ranks among this year's top freshmen defensemen.
INCH: Del Grosso Among Top Blueliners

Posted: September 13th, 2006, 8:22pm CDT by Rick

Inside College Hockey put Eddie Del Grosso at #10 on its list of incoming defensemen for this year. Early reports from campus have it that Del Grosso looks like the kind of kid who will get a ten-minute misconduct simply for warming up. Some violence and scoring ability on the blueline are badly needed, and Del Grosso has potential to deliver both.
Belck: "Media Glare," did her in

Posted: September 12th, 2006, 1:52pm CDT by Rick

A Mavpuck thread contains what purports to be an e-mail from Nancy Belck to all students, faculty and staff at UNO. It reads, in pertinent part:

Over the past several weeks, the constant glare of the media spotlight on UNO has redirected our focus from the important job of educating students; in such an environment, it is impossible for me to lead effectively. In the best interests of UNO, removing myself from this controversy is the most appropriate course of action.
Belck: "Media Glare," did her in

Posted: September 12th, 2006, 1:52pm CDT by Rick

A Mavpuck thread contains what purports to be an e-mail from Nancy Belck to all students, faculty and staff at UNO. It reads, in pertinent part:

Over the past several weeks, the constant glare of the media spotlight on UNO has redirected our focus from the important job of educating students; in such an environment, it is impossible for me to lead effectively. In the best interests of UNO, removing myself from this controversy is the most appropriate course of action.
John Christensen Interim Chancellor

Posted: September 12th, 2006, 10:42am CDT by Rick

John Christensen, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, has been named vice chancellor in Henry Cordes's updated story.
WOWT | Belck Resigns

Posted: September 12th, 2006, 10:29am CDT by Rick

WOWT | Belck Resigns
OWH: Regents, Faculty and Boosters Mulling Belck Resignation

Posted: September 12th, 2006, 10:14am CDT by Rick

Omaha.com has just posted a story indicating UNO Faculty members, members of the Board of Regents, and prominent boosters are hoping for a change of leadership at the university.
WCH: Terry Leahy Is Wrong!

Posted: September 12th, 2006, 7:57am CDT by Rick

My man Chris over at Western College Hockey has a great little article, in which he debunks, at least for the WCHA, two of UNO radio color man Terry Leahy's set-piece principles: that the first goal of the game is "all-important," and that the "dreaded" two-goal lead is the most dangerous in hockey, at least if you're leading 2-0.

He argues that giving up the 1-1 equalizer reduces your odds of winning (again, last year in the WCHA) to 57%, which is hardly "all-important," and that W teams that get out to a 2-0 lead wind up winning 91.5% of the time. The stat he doesn't give us is last year's total of teams that score the first goal alone that go on to win the game. (He says the previous year's stats yielded a tie or win 77% of the time.) Anyway, I salute this last-month-of-the-offseason attempt to keep the college hockey fires burning, which is appropriately titled A Second Attempt at Wonkery.

In other news, the Seventh Man Award is still "coveted."
The Gateway on Karnes Commission

Posted: September 12th, 2006, 7:39am CDT by Rick

While the OWH has focused more on the budget details, today's UNO Gateway has a more in-depth review of David Karnes' presentation to the Regents last week.
OWH: Belck Fudged Expense Records

Posted: September 10th, 2006, 8:49am CDT by Rick

This morning's Omaha World Herald reports that Chancellor Nancy Belck edited some of Jim Buck's expense records before they were turned over to the press as part of the paper's records request. The biggest item was that Belck added phantom diners to an expense report for a $1200 dinner tab, apparently to justify its magnitude. And when I say "added them," the paper reports she put in some extra diners years after the fact. Henry Cordes interviewed a number of diners at the table, however, who uniformly said there were no extra diners, the "select Division II staff" representatives of the NCAA she alone recalls. Just UNO folks having a $1200, 7-course meal.

This one doesn't strike me as a blockbuster alone. At the same time, the Chancellor has gravely diminished credibility in the community for her professed total ignorance of Jim Buck's runaway spending of Athletic Department dollars on personal perks, while shoveling other discretionary dollars to cover up the magnitude of Athletics' shortfall. Trying clumsily to fool the World-Herald into thinking a meal was merely extravagant and not wholly indefensible is another entry growing the enormous deficit on the Chancellor's credibility ledger.
Sean Weide: OWH has dirt on Belck spending

Posted: September 8th, 2006, 5:04pm CDT by Rick

Media maven Sean Weide, brother-in-law to the Mavpuck empire, reports in his blog that World-Herald reporter Henry Cordes will follow up his Thursday story uncovering some truly nauseating expense reimbursements to deposed vice-chancellor Jim Buck (including, for example, a reimbursement for his $100 check to the UNO Womens' Walk), with a further story. Weide says Cordes's Sunday story will "examine() spending by current Chancellor Nancy Belck."

Not only is Weide pretty well-informed when it comes to the media, but it stands to reason that the OWH would not put the biggest story on the UNO Athletics scandal in a copyrighted story in the Thursday paper, as it did with Buck. If Chancellor Belck engaged in spending even half as libertine as Buck, she can start packing now.
Gateway Recaps The Summer

Posted: August 29th, 2006, 9:17pm CDT by Rick

The UNO Gateway has provided a concise, easy to read summary of the wacky summer we had with Nancy and Jim. Read it, learn it, love it.
Lee Sapp Calls for Belck's Head

Posted: August 15th, 2006, 1:23am CDT by Rick

WOWT reported tonight that Lee Sapp, for whom the UNO Fieldhouse is named, was not satisfied with departure of UNO Vice Chancellor Jim Buck. "Jim Buck is a start, but I want Belck to leave too."
Dupont leads "Center for Hockey Excellence" to Summer-Tourney Championship

Posted: August 7th, 2006, 7:26am CDT by Rick

The Plattsburgh Press Republican reports that UNO recruit Jeremie Dupont led his team, "Center for Hockey Excellence," to the championship of the Chowder Cup in Foxboro, Massachusetts, last week. The coverage is a little hazy, but it looks like Dupont gave up only four goals in the last four games of the tournament. Mmm, chowder.
Karnes Commission to Examine UNO Athletics

Posted: July 28th, 2006, 3:11pm CDT by Rick

The University of Nebraska announced today that former U.S. Senator (and, somewhat less importantly to this question, my colleague) David Karnes will chair a commission to examine and recommend measures to resolve the issues currently facing UNO Athletics.
Toward Sustainability: An Editorial on the UNO Budget Process

Posted: July 25th, 2006, 1:28pm CDT by Rick

The last six weeks have brought UNO an embarrassing spate of publicity, beginning with the layoffs of long-serving athletics staff, followed by howls from donors that they were not consulted, and the nervous comments of an obviously hamstrung David Herbster, whom, we would later find out, the Chancellor personally forbade from speaking to the donors about the crisis. What has ensued has been bad for UNO Athletics, not just for the substance of the problem, but for the total inability of most of the people involved to do anything other than point fingers, issue ultimatums, and take their ball and go home. The booster clubs have not helped matters by anointing themselves as UNO's parliament, passing resolutions of no confidence in the administration, the Athletics leadership, and just about anybody who has driven past 60th and Dodge recently. Mature, proactive discussion has been in grievously short supply.

Combined, these events create the impression that no one of substance will take responsibility for keeping UNO afloat financially, and even if they would, nobody seems to know how. The issue right now is simple: UNO must develop and implement a sustainable business plan for Maverick Athletics that will preserve and expand the success of UNO's student athletes.

Although "sustainable business plan" is easy to say, nobody seems to be talking about one. Let me start the bidding with some subjects that need to be examined if UNO is to develop such a plan. I offer a half-dozen issues to consider in no particular order.

1. Raise and spend more money on marketing. Creighton University absolutely took UNO to school when it came to marketing their marquee sport. Part of that is eggs to make mayonnaise, and part of that is an absolute lack of focus on UNO's part before Bob Flanery came along. Now that the ridiculous ineffectiveness of "Mavericks Wanted" and "Get With the Program" have been exposed, the only thing left is to fund a program that promotes sports with a realistic chance of bringing in significant revenue. They are as follows: 1. Hockey. 2. Football. This is not the time to argue why the women's diving team isn't as worthy as hockey and football. It's absolutely every bit as worthy; it just doesn't stand a snowball's chance of being a cashflow sport, which is different. If we don't have the money to market these two programs, we need to raise it from donors.

Chancellor Belck's refusal to tap donors for what she calls "operating expenses" as opposed, presumably, to capital items, is in this case short-sighted. One of the biggest assets of any program is its fan base, which has by all lights dwindled over the last few seasons. Redeveloping that fan base through funding a focused, aggressive campaign to put hindquarters back in seats is the highest and best objective donor dollars could possibly fund. Even a comparatively easily-raised figure, say a quarter-million dollars, could bring in four or five times that in ticket revenue. More importantly, it will bring back fans. And fans are what UNO needs more than anything to sustain its economy for years to come. UNO should get a marketing fund put together and start riding the silent auction and cocktail party circuit like everybody else.

2. Exploit football as a revenue sport. UNO has a very competitive football team playing in an absolutely gorgeous setting, nestled in the trees of Elmwood Park surrounded by literally dozens of acres of parking, in the best part of a city roughly eighty times more fun than Lincoln, and you can get a whole family in for the face value of a Nebraska football ticket. Pat Berhns' teams are exciting to watch; they play with an offensive competence sometimes absent from their D-I neighbors. While hockey is clearly the big meal ticket, football shouldn't be overlooked as a potential source of revenue in a state that's clearly crazy about the sport.

3. Find a community steward. Clearly the administration, and to a lesser extent, the athletic department, have bungled their relationships with the big-gun donors, given that some of them have spilled the World-Herald's ink to voice their discontent. UNO needs another community strongman like Del Weber to anchor and oversee the rebuilding of UNO's finances. Creighton graduated half of the city's doctors and lawyers, so they don't need a big hitter like UNO does. More importantly, the chaos from the Chancellor's office stems in part from the fact that that Drs. Belck and Buck are transplants, and have obviously and tragically not mastered the dance of public-private partnership that has characterized nearly every public success in Omaha over the last twenty years. (Messrs. Herbster and Flanery can be forgiven this same handicap, given their much shorter tenure in Omaha.)

Committees of academics and coaches alone will not solve this problem. UNO needs a King-of-Aksarben type to bring gravitas and the ability to forge strategic alliances among other big hitters, to say nothing of talent and treasure, to begin putting Humpty together again.

4. Audit the books. The World-Herald has done no harm by letting the sun shine on UNO Athletics' finances. The luxo-car payments and country club dues paid Vice-Chancellor Buck out of the athletics budget were instantaneously embarrassing to the Administration Building, and they should have been. Similarly, the money paid to pep and marching bands of uneven quality is troubling. UNO Athletics seems to have become an omnibus funding source for things other than the education and competition of student-athletes. A reputable auditor should review Athletics' income and outgo, and report publicly so fans, donors and taxpayers can participate meaningfully in the discussion, to say nothing of the Regents and Administration.

5. Look only at the economics of D-I. UNO has one of the biggest D-II budgets and is one of the bigger D-II schools. With the unfortunate demise of the North Central Conference at hand, the siren song of Division I is more seductive than ever. If UNO remains D-II, it probably faces significant increases in travel costs, as the days of traveling to Sioux City and Fargo are probably behind us. But going D-I requires an even bigger budget. D-I makes sense only if making that quantum leap makes it more possible to put athletes on the field. Only economics count, not whether it would be more fun to watch UNO play Maine in football as well as hockey (or to see Bill Callahan squirm publicly at Pat Berhns' offer to play anywhere, anytime, which I think he'd make about fifteen minutes after going to D-I).

No, the only relevant question is whether D-I makes the budget better or worse. Obviously, that needs to take into account questions of competitiveness (UNO will probably get slaughtered in some of its sports upon moving up to D-I, and that may turn fans off), but only insofar as they affect the bottom line. If objective studies show the fans come in numbers to watch D-I programs sufficient to offset the increased costs, then do it. If not, don't. That simple. We don't have time or money for risks.

6. Explore the alternatives to the Qwest Center lease. It's obvious that the Qwest Center lease is a millstone around UNO's neck. UNO should begin examining alternatives. Leases can be bought out and re-negotiated, particularly where, as here, the landlord is subject to political pressure. (This is one of the reasons to have a big hitter at the helm as above.) Even if UNO is stuck at the Qwest for another few years, it needs to consider whether the Chili Greens property represents an opportunity to build a full-scale arena. The Civic Auditorium is probably not a viable long-term solution for no reason other than it is probably not going to be standing for the long term, not to mention the stigma of defeat returning there would almost certainly inflict on the hockey program.

This is certainly not an exhaustive list of topics, but only an obvious beginning point to a discussion that needs to happen, and needs to happen soon. UNO's student athletes deserve nothing less.
Dan Swanson: UNO a "Pretty Easy Choice."

Posted: May 30th, 2006, 9:06am CDT by Rick

A blog called Hockey Thoughts did a great interview with 06 recruit Dan Swanson. He seems genuinely excited about Omaha and playing for the Mavs, citing his love for the city and the success of the program as motivating his choice. Thanks to Chris at Western College Hockey for finding this one.
Husker Mike Speculates on UNO Rink, and So Do I

Posted: May 15th, 2006, 9:10am CDT by Rick

Rationalist Husker blogger and fellow QCO upper-deck denizen West O Mike speculates in a Mavpuck thread that Nebraska athletics benefactor Howard Hawks wants the school to build a facility for UNO hockey on the ground currently occupied by the defunct Chili Greens golf course.

The safe plan, of course, would be to build a practice facility for the Mavs, maybe a two-sheeter. The more ambitious plan would be to build an arena, something on which Mike doesn't speculate.

The angle no one has really explored is the willingness of the usual big-donor suspects to build an arena that would effectively remove an anchor tenant from the Qwest Center, toward which the Bigs put up $75 million of their own cash. Then again, the arena doesn't seem to be a problem child economically, and a UNO move to its own facility may give the woefully-attended Omaha Aksarben Knights a halfway legitimate claim to "best venue." (On the third hand, whether the Knights will still be here when Howard Hawks Ice Arena opens four or five years hence is not secure from reasoned debate.)

Also, would hockey without beer, which is probably pretty likely at an on-campus facility, meet market resistance in Omaha? Teetotalers and purists snort at this, but to the casual fan having a warm 6 buck Bud Light is central to the hockey experience, and casual fans are the only ones left for market expansion.

In either case, there's enough of an ice shortage in Omaha that rental could be a meaningful source of income for such a facility. Besides, think of the hockey kharma associated with placing an ice rink back on the grounds of Ak-Sar-Ben.
New Recruits: Chris Wilson and Dan Swanson

Posted: May 6th, 2006, 10:10am CDT by Rick

UNO has now evened up for its off-season losses to date. UNO graduated five and has lost three to defection -- Bill Thomas to the NHL, and Greg Barrett and Micah Sanford to, well, elsewhere. According to Heisenberg, The Grande Prairie Storm (AJHL), who gave us Mike Lefley, is apparently sending Chris Wilson, a small forward. The Storm website, however, has Wilson going to Bemidji on a
WCH Rates Del Grosso, Dupont as "Four Star" recruits

Posted: May 2nd, 2006, 3:08pm CDT by Rick

My man Chris over at Western College Hockey has ranked all of the CCHA and WCHA recruits with a one-to-five star scale. He ranks UNO's recruits thus:

Four Stars: Eddie Del Grosso (D), Jeremie Dupont (G)

Three Stars: Mark Bernier (D), J.J. Koehler (F), Jeric Agosta (F), Nick Fanto (F).

Not bad overall, though I remain a bit mystified with Nick Fanto. If he performs on a level like Agosta or Koehler, he could succeed at UNO, but his stats don't seem to predict that. What am I missing?
Lucia: Calgary Organization Anti-College

Posted: April 23rd, 2006, 8:56am CDT by Rick

College hockey recruiting wizard Chris Heinsenberg has a blog entry on the departure of Minnesota's Kris Chucko for a pro contract with the Calgary organization. Gopher coach Don Lucia says Calgary contacted Chucko mid-season and pressured him to leave the Gophers.

With Calgary's AHL franchise in Omaha for the moment, this is an alarming prospect.
Tamie Ann Marie Krischuk, 1986-2006

Posted: April 21st, 2006, 7:03pm CDT by Rick

Tamie Krischuk, sister of Maverick senior Jason Krischuk, passed away unexpectedly last Sunday as the result of a brain aneurism.

Her obituary in the Anchorage Daily News lists as survivors "many friends in Omaha," and certainly Jason, together with his parents Bruce and Diane, can know that they indeed have many friends in Omaha whose thoughts and prayers are with them.
Gateway On Recruiting Class

Posted: April 21st, 2006, 10:02am CDT by Rick

The UNO Gateway has an article about the 06-07 recruiting class, including Kemp's comment that defenseman Ed Del Grosso is "extremely offensive."

I remain rather mystified by the numbers of Nick Fanto -- a winger who scores 23 points in 60 USHL games seems like an odd get. Then again, at 6'2", 205, he's like four times the size of JJ Koehler, so maybe his role will be to plow the road. Dupont, Agosta, Koehler, Del Grosso and Bernier all seem to have obvious chances to contend for playing time.
Bernier, Fanto and Koehler Sign

Posted: April 18th, 2006, 8:20pm CDT by Rick

UNO Athletics - Hockey Headlines has today's official word that Mark Bernier, Nick Fanto, and J.J. Koehler have joined the freshman class for the fall.

They join Jeric Agosta, Jeremie Dupont and Eddie Del Grosso, early signees in the class.

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